Alternatives to a Wal-Mart Christmas

Part Two of a Two-Part Series

In the last installment, we reviewed why Wal-Mart's the Devil. But what's to be done? We all want to have a festive holiday season without going broke. Here are some suggestions to help make your season bright.

Lower quantity, higher quality. Got $100 to spend on each kid this year? Maybe get them each one really nice gift instead of 100 crappy gifts (presumably from Wal-Mart.) This goes for other loved ones as well, but it's a plan I recommend having everyone agree to ahead of time. We all may need to mentally prepare for the gift-unwrapping to take less than two hours. But the end result will be that everyone will have something that had some thought and meaning put into it, that hopefully will last for years to come. And if you're the parent involved, it means a less overflowing toy box, and fewer Barbie shoes to step on. If I were your 8-year-old daughter, I'd much rather have one American Girls doll from Pleasant Company than seven Bratz dolls from Wal-Mart. (Side note: I just went to the American Girls website, and learned that after 20 years, they're archiving the Samantha Doll! That's the one I had! Quick, buy Samantha Parkington and her books about Victorian life through the eyes of a 9-year-old girl before it's too late!)

Get crafty. There are few gifts more meaningful than the ones you make yourself. Not really your thing? Check out www.etsy.com, and support the work of other DIYers. My friend Brenna makes these awesome necklaces from vintage bottle caps and sells them on her etsy site. (She may be on hiatus, since she's now up to her ears in grad school. I'll update with a link if she's still an active vendor.) I make magnets for stress-relief purposes, which I have every intention of selling on etsy at some point, but I keep diminishing my stock by giving them out as last minute gifts. My mom has turned into a crazy hat-knitting machine-- I know what I'm getting in my Christmas stocking this year. So if you don't feel particularly crafty, there are still plenty of ways you can support an artisan restoration with your own hard-earned dollars, and because there's no middle-man, the prices are pretty reasonable. The DIY spirit doesn't have to be limited to gifts this season. How much more fun will you have, and how much classier will your tree look, when you string up some cranberries on your own, rather than buying fake garland from a big box store? The same is true for centerpieces, dining room decorations, and whatever else you feel needs a little sprucing. If you approach it all with a spirit of festive fun, it will be easy on the budget, and more relaxing than hitting the mall. Or the Wal.

Do you have a Farmer's Market in town? If so, check it out! Because most of the items will be locally grown, you won't be paying for the fuel cost of getting that spinach from Salinas to Fredericksburg, like you do at the grocer. But do compare prices, as there are a lot of other factors at play, such as the fact that you're not buying millions of bags of said spinach from a Monsanto. Farmer Harrison might not be able to match that discount. But it will almost certainly taste better.

If all else fails, there's always Target. If you get desperate, but still don't want to succomb to Wal-Mart, you can take the lesser of the two evils. Their prices won't be quite as low, but their business practices won't be quite as slimey, either.